Beach Walk Design Charette February 2003

BeachWalk Design Charette

Compilation of Public Input

On Tuesday evening, February 25th, a
public design charette was held at the Harbor View Center in downtown
Clearwater to solicit public input on the proposed BeachWalk project along
South Gulfview Boulevard. The quantity
and quality of comments and suggestions from the public were very helpful and
insightful. The following questions
were presented to stimulate group discussion on the various design issues
relevant to moving the “Beach By Design” planning experience forward and
into the design development phase. All of these comments will be carefully
considered as a part of the consensus building process that will shape the
physical image of the Clearwater BeachWalk.
The design team has recorded all of the public input and has provided
the following compiled listing of comments:

Place Making:

1. What makes you want to come to Clearwater Beach over
other Gulf Coast beaches?

Close proximity,
walking, small town feel, quality of the beach, swimming, attractions and
lifeguards.

Low key,
family-oriented, beautiful beach, and calm.

Accessibility and
variety of activities.

Great Beach, wide
beach and clean. Walkable beach

Generally good access,
generally available parking, other services food, retail, lots of people.

Sunsets and green
flash

Small scale, do not
want a “Condo Canyon”

The Marina is a big
draw to the beach

Play area, Pier 60
Park

Unimpeded visual
access to beach

Clearwater Beach is
nationally known, people come to Clearwater Beach not Clearwater

White sand, low surf,
sunsets, marine life

Village atmosphere,
quaint, small, everyone knows everyone

Take the water and
sand away and nobody would come

Great world-class
beach access (not overused)

This is the best beach
in the region that is accessible.

Concentrate on
low-rise buildings, no high rises

2. What things do you think contribute to the character
of a community?

Landscaping, Date
palms, sand, and water.

Residents have a sense
of belonging to Clearwater Beach.

Good character:
causeway access experience.

Landscaping and
lighting.

Bad character: poor
structure, no pedestrian system, too auto-oriented, not many great public
access spaces, infrastructure is worn out, architecture needs to be refurbished

Close S. Gulfview for
specialty events and art fairs

Density – too dense
detracts from character

Architectural facades-
need to be updated, keep same type of retail/commercial, but freshen up
architecture

Visual pollution
detracts from community character – utilities and electric wires

Water feature,
interactive play fountain

Landscape, however,
city plants and then rips it out, no maintenance

Need native
landscaping for low maintenance

Clearwater Beach needs
to find its own image

Need more landscaping,
plants and a lot of shade

3. What makes Clearwater Beach unique and memorable?

Great beach gradient,
wide beach, and clean water.

Soft sand, moderate
cost, and the family atmosphere.

The beach and water.

Since 1994 Pier 60 has
become a national gathering spot for culture

Strawberry daiquiris
at Rockaways and Palm Pavilion at sunset

Clearwater Beach
should be a destination but there is no programming as a Destination Tourist
Facility

4. What “waterside” places have you visited that
exemplifies what Clearwater Beach should be?

Wider sidewalks because they are inadequate for
rollerblading, bikes and walkers

Benches are always good if there is wide
walkways but not too close to the street, that can be dangerous

Retail and Economic Development:

1.
Based on your present
knowledge of this area, does the existing retail and commercial development
support the continued growth of tourism? Of the local residential market?

No. Present use of available land is highly
inefficient.

Old, outdated, and
worn out.

Poor beach image.

Not a merchandizing
area with any theme.

Need more things to do
“out of the sun” and more things for kids

Private sector will
take care of economy

Redevelopment should
be at same scale and character

Clearwater Beach is a
blue collar beach

Storefront appeal is
lacking, needs to be more inviting

Need more activities
for children

Tourists need shopping
on the beach to keep them and their money at the beach

Right now the beach is
not attractive for development

2. What types of retail and commercial development,
would you like to see more/or less of?

Less T-shirt shops, no cheap tourist shops,
more family oriented restaurants

More: restaurants, nightlife, themed and fun
retail, and more entertainment.

More outdoor cafes and restaurants like
Baywalk

More arts and entertainment activities

Need quality retail, restaurants, hotels and
convention space

Do not want upscale development like St.
Armand’s Circle

Small scale development, small building height

Tourist fishing boats from marina

Specialty shops, more variety, outdoor market

Need good mix of high end and affordable shops

Ron Jon Surf Shop, a martini bar

Traffic Flow:

1. What kind of driving experience would you expect,
given the functionality of each street? Gulfview Boulevard as a driving
experience and Coronado Drive as a major arterial.

One way traffic (2
lanes) on Gulf Boulevard going south and Coronado going north

Each roadway should be
one way.

Coronado should be 4
lanes, but low speed.

Widen Coronado

Poor driving, poor
function.

Make Gulfview scenic –
proposal to make Coronado an arterial is great.

Which street is the
thru street? All other streets need to be calm

Beach is not an
expressway/thru way to Sand Key

2. Given the increases in pedestrian, rollerbladers,
cyclists, trolleys and buses and the downplay of automobile dominance, how
would you make the experience for all of the users be equally pleasurable?

What downplay of
automobile dominance?

Reduce vehicle
speed. Need to slow down traffic

Create designated
zones for each user.

Like the serpentine
road alignment

3. Would you personally use other modes of
transportation to access this area?

Yes -- have monorail
and a ferry.

No – I live here.

Yes, I do at times. Would use more if Jolley Trolley ran more
hours, more frequently, especially during Coachman Park events.

Long range transit
access from Downtown.

More Trolley movement
north-south.

Add carts and bikes.

Transit
disadvantageous when carrying a lot of beach gear

Public transportation
needs to be more frequent and reliable

Public transportation
should be an integral part of the process

Monorail can not
facilitate equipment from downtown parking

Parking:

1. Where should the city
provide additional parking for South Beach?

Parking issue is
insurmountable

Need a compromise.
Parking should be first consideration

Marina

New development should
provide parking

The lot near the
Adam’s Mark hotel

Right where the
ground-level parking is now. Double the
number of spaces by making a second level with no roof.

On land already owned
by the City.

Needed at very south
area.

Needed mid-beach to
replace the beach lot.

Needed north at
Pelican Walk area.

Parking on Coronado
and Hamden

Taking away parking on
the beach is not a good idea. Like close proximity to beach. Other places
require a cab or bus to get there

Parking next to beach
is a plus and an attraction

Do not want to lose
beach side parking

Parking garage one
block from beach

Visual impact of
parking garage at beach

Need to establish a
limit of saturation

Feel removal of beach
side parking is appeasing the developers, not the beach patron

Move parking off
beach, but still convenient

Parking must be
maintained and centrally located

Need drop-off
area/valet

No parking on the
beach

Drop-off are not good
for families

Don’t take parking off
South Beach

Parking should be
close to the beach

Parking has to be on
Gulfview.

2. Who should pay for the
replacement parking?

Public and City
Infrastructure.

Tourists.

The people who park
there – raise the rates during peak periods.
Do it now to test the market. Raise the rates to build more parking

All of the users of
the parking lots.

Parking should be
built by City

City should fund
additional parking construction

Parking fees are too cheap’

City should build
additional parking.

Additional Issues or Comments:

Have next charette at
Recreation Center at Beach

Beach by Design is a wonderful concept. We need to keep the uniqueness of the beach. Bring more specialty shops, restaurants
and motels. Keep your Mom &
Pop businesses as well as high-end shops and hotels.

Make new parking prior to eliminating any parking. Keep parking close to beach to
facilitate the ability to take coolers and equipment to the beach. Look at change in traffic flow to
reduce bottleneck going south.
Wide sidewalks. Please
change from shell walkway. It is
very hard on bare feet as well as not rollerblade friendly.

This was a great exercise n sharing of
ideas and a good mix of people from many areas: residents, developers,
City employees and City officials.

Clean out the Poinsettia/ East Shore
grease pits and rat holes. I live
on North Beach and am embarrassed to have visitors turn at east shore to
come to my house in 900 block of Mandalay.

Tonight’s meeting was not advertised as a
charette, nor was the length of the meeting stated. Ensure public involvement by: 1)
Publishing the meeting schedule and agenda well in advance; 2) Publish
meeting materials on the City web site well in advance of the meeting; and
3) publish meeting results on the City web site.

Having lived in South Beach, Fort
Lauderdale, also Cocoa Beach, what brought me back to Clearwater beach was
the village atmosphere and not a canyon of high rises. We need specialty shops, parking and
flat streets. Something needs to
be done about the danger at the roundabout to both auto and
pedestrians. The biggest problem I
have is the notification of the public when having “charettes”.

Please don’t repeat on South Beach: what
was done on North Mandalay Roads should be flat – no excuses. Money should do it right the first
time. Keep a village
atmosphere. No more condos. Motels—rebuilt or new, but no
condos. Mass transit rather than
build numerous garages. St. John’s
pass has a desirable shopping experience – shade from heat and easy access
from North beach -- that’s pedestrian friendly, reduce building footprint,
so sidewalks can be wider, buildings can overhang. Parking should not be on the “beach”. Clearwater Beach needs to be pedestrian
friendly – Europeans who visit want transportation – families want good
atmosphere. Poorly advertised to
the community.

Restrooms are a public necessity and
should accommodate mothers with small children (i.e. changing tables) and
should be more private.

The city should focus first on
infrastructure and traffic patterns.

The traffic circle moves traffic then
slows down and is choked after the bridge.